Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has vowed to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration in response to what he claimed was federal overreach for how the White House sent in National Guard soldiers to quell fiery riots in Los Angeles over the weekend.
Newsom, a longtime Trump foe, said Sunday evening that the state would sue President Donald Trump on Monday for deploying the state’s National Guard to quell protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement that turned violent.
“Donald Trump has created the conditions you see on your TV tonight,” Newsom told MSNBC. “He’s exacerbated the conditions. He’s, you know, lit the proverbial match. He’s putting fuel on this fire, ever since he announced he was taking over the National Guard — an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act.”
“We’re going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow,” Newsom continued.
Newsom maintained that he was on solid legal ground because Trump’s executive order, which activated the National Guard to move in, “specifically notes” that the Defense Department failed to coordinate with the governor of the state despite being required to do so.
“We have no problem working collaboratively in a mutual aid system with local law enforcement,” Newsom said. “But there’s a protocol, there’s a process. He didn’t care about that. … It’s Orwellian — simply lying to people, unconstitutional, illegal act, his mess.”
Newsom’s comments followed those by White House “border czar” Tom Homan, who stated earlier in the weekend that he would not rule out arresting Newsom or Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, if the officials attempted to obstruct the federal efforts.
“Tom, arrest me, let’s go,” Newsom said.
Homan rebutted that his words had been taken out of context.
“A different reporter asked, ‘Well, could Gov. Newsom or Mayor Bass be arrested?’ I said, ‘Well, no one’s above the law. If they cross a line and commit a crime, absolutely they can,’” Homan told Fox News on Monday morning. “There was no discussion about arresting Newsom.”
The White House has defended Trump’s decision to send in the National Guard.
“President Trump rightfully stepped in to restore law and order because of Gavin Newsom’s feckless leadership and his refusal to stop the violent attacks on American law enforcement,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
“It’s a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved,” Jackson added. “Everyone saw the chaos, violence, and lawlessness – unless, of course, Gavin Newsom doesn’t think any of that is a problem.”
Local police responded to unruly protesters by deploying flash-bang grenades. Some protesters responded by hurling rocks at police officers and government vehicles. Cars were set on fire, and one protester threw a Molotov cocktail at law enforcement, which resulted in several officers being injured, according to the LA County Sheriff’s Department.
Police, including federal and local law enforcement, used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the violent crowd.
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Homan told MSNBC on Monday that the basis for the protests was not to raid businesses of immigration workers, as was reported by some media.
“The Fashion District wasn’t an immigration raid,” Homan said. “It was a service of three criminal warrants [at] locations based on a large criminal conspiracy … that has to do with money laundering, tax evasion, and customs fraud for a company that has undeclared, underdeclared over $80 million in goods, failed to pay $17 million in fees. They believe that some of this money is being laundered in Mexico to fund cartel activity.”